2014 was really a pretty weak year. There were lots of good albums, but not many great albums. That made it hard to make this list, as, outside of The Satanist this year, there are about 15 or so records that I could’ve put in the other 4 slots here. Those other albums are:

Deep Mountains – Lake of Solace
Alcest – Shelter
Anathema – Distant Satellites
Fire! Orchestra – Enter
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Piñata
The Great Old Ones – Tekeli-li
Panopticon – Roads to the North
Sunn O))) & Ulver – Terrestrials
Sylvan Esso – Sylvan Esso
Gridlink – Longhena
Swans – To Be Kind